From here to...well...it SEEMS like an eternity

[Cap Mandrake]

[font="Arial"]Dec..23 I have made no entry for 3 days due to the exigency of the situation. The party voted to push over the mountains to the West to try to reach the Australian 27th Brig in Pahang. The Captian detailed Lt. Collingsworth to take 1/3 of the KVF and the few heavy weapons we have back to Khota Bahru by road along with the infirmed. We had perhaps half a score of civilians who declined to go back to Khota Bahru despite age or physical malady which made their success unlikely. There was much discussion among the party, some which grew quite bitter. After pacing alone for some minutes, then bowing his head in apparent solitary prayer, the Captain returned and decreed that all men wishing to go West must carry a 40 lb kit and all women a 25 lb load. There were to be no children under 14 save those babes in arms whose weight would be supplemental to the burden required of the responsible adult. He then pointed to the first of many hills along the trail, which stood perhaps 150 ft above our position and 1/4 mile distant. Anyone who could not reach that milestone in 5 minutes of travel would be left behind in the care of Lt. Collingsworth. The brutal pragmatism of the scheme silenced all complaints, though there were a few sobs of realization.

A crude balance was fashioned and Lt. Collingsorth supervised the weighing in, the Captain shaking everyone's hand as they left the scale. He carried a full pack as well. Edith showed no sign of strain as she accepted her pack with the baby in one arm. As we milled about waiting to push off, members of the Pahang group eyed each other cautiously, watching, as did I, though I am now ashamed to admit it, to be sure that no member surreptitiously unburdened themselves. Very few of us chose to speak with those left behind. It was difficult. As we pushed off, Lt. Collingsworth called for a cheer for our success among his party. Half a dozen joined him in the feeble gesture. Mud and heat made the climb difficult. We had not gone 1/4 of the distance when Mrs. Marks fell to one knee, struggling to breathe. Her husband stopped to help her and they began to silently weep. I averted my gaze as I passed them. Mr. Hong, who must be near 70, seemd to have no difficulty despite his skeletal frame. He was the only surprise, however. Several who fell to the side lacked the dignity of Mrs. Marks. They pleaded in a most pitiable fashion for an exception. This was the most painful part of our exodus to date. It is one thing to watch a man die of malaria, lapsing quietly into coma. It is quite another to hear the cries of the sensate, who, now facing the likely prospect of the end of their time on Earth, rail against their fate. If the Captain heard their cries, he did not show it, though the burden must be heavy indeed. At the top, I glanced back to see Lt. Collingsworth and some of the Khota Bahru party shpeherding our comrades back down the hill. May God help us all. [/font]

[Onime No Kyo]

Sad epic. And they havent fired a shot in anger yet.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

Sad epic. And they havent fired a shot in anger yet.

Sad epic descrbes the relentless destruction of Allied forces on the Peninsula...now up against 5 full Jap divisions [:(]

POW gets some revenge, however. [:)]

[Terminus]

1 battleship, 1 torpedo cruiser and 3 destroyers in exchange for a light cruiser and a pair of four-stackers. I'll take that deal...

[Onime No Kyo]

[:@]
 
Mine turned out a bit differently.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

1 battleship, 1 torpedo cruiser and 3 destroyers in exchange for a light cruiser and a pair of four-stackers. I'll take that deal...

Yes. I was happy with it. Of the nine IJN ships tormenting Koepang, only Amatsukaze and Maya are likely battleworthy. Yamshiro is going to be in the shop for a while and the others are either sunk or sinking hulks.

POW didn't take any torpedoes but everything above deck got pounded pretty hard. She will need some dent repairs. Repulse is unscratched, HMS Durban lost one front turret but is still battleworthy and 5 USN 4-stackers are battleworthy. They remain the most powerful force in the are but there is at least one Jap battlewagon coming down the Java Sea. As they are almost completely out of torpedoes, I dont want to take on the Jap ships at Dili in a night battle. Interesting situation. At least it is a bright spot. Singapore is going to fall soon. [:(]

[Terminus]

Gotta take your silver linings where you can find them, at this point in the war...

[Onime No Kyo]

Is Yossarian having more fun?

[scott64]

I would like to do a battle scene like that. [:(]

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

... HMS Durban lost one front turret but is still battleworthy ...

That's the spirit!!!

[Cap Mandrake]

More in the morning. I made a really fantastic broiled wild salmon on a corn, tomato and bell pepper confite...that is not really the problem..the problem is I also made two big Gin and Tonics [:)]

[>:]

Note: Yossarian wasn't paying attention in class when they talked about the subjunctive tense.

[Cap Mandrake]

page 2

[Cap Mandrake]

..

[Onime No Kyo]

Jeez Mandrake,
 
Yossarian sounded almost communist there in his criticism of the Brewsters.
 

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

Jeez Mandrake,

Yossarian sounded almost communist there in his criticism of the Brewsters.

Nah. His early introduction to economic theory was from the hyper-Capitalist, Milo.

[font="Arial"]Dec 25...We have almost reached the pass and will tomorrow begin our descent toward Pahang. We can intermittently hear the sound of big guns to our Southwest. This must be the Australians attempting to halt the Japanese advance Westward. We cannot confirm thsi as we are now out of radio contact with Malaya Army HQ. The Captain's decision to limit our party to the physically able has been the right one as we have been able to make 8 miles today, despite a 300 m climb. We had quite a scare in the late afternoon when we heard Bren gun fire in the direction of the front of the column. We soon discovered a huge boar had sprung from the underbrush, startling the men on point, who proceeded to nearly dismember the poor creature with dozens of rounds from the gun. After a gentle upbraiding of the men on point for disclosing our position, the Captain called a halt to the march and we prepared a glorious roast for Christmas dinner. The fortifying effect of fresh roast meat and the passage of Christmas had a remarkably salubrious effect on the party. The Captain was so moved, he rose to make a prayer, thanking the Lord for the meal and asking for safe passage of our party and those returning to Khota Bahru.[/font]

[Onime No Kyo]

Hmm...Boar a la lead poisioning.
 
I'm taking this story rather personally, just so you know. When Faber landed in Malaya, he cut off the Khota Bharu garrison. They are now in the process of hacking their way through the jungle, although I realize that their efforts will ultimately be futile.

[Onime No Kyo]

Update, update, Update.....

[Cap Mandrake]

Cool update sign

[Onime No Kyo]

Uh oh. They must have found out either that the water filtration system is broken or that the Marine barracks finally got the 'still up and running.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

Uh oh. They must have found out either that the water filtration system is broken or that the Marine barracks finally got the 'still up and running.

They already had perhaps 10,000 troops ashore but the opposing troops have been hiding in their trenches 20 yds apart for a week..tossing cocconuts and gooney bird guano at each other after the ammo ran out.
Vals mean there is at least one carrier about..probably the GD Kaga and Akagi. The poor boys on Midway are on their own save for a dozen Coronados ferrying in supplies. We are really just hunkering down with 4 active Jap carriers to our one in the Pacific.